and there's the overarching question of taxes and spending and entitlements. where do you put the challenges this session faces in terms of history? is this 1981? is this 2009? how are you feeling about the weight of what you have to deal with? >> well, first let me say there is bipartisan agreement that your book on jefferson is absolutely fantastic. >> all right. >> that's among the leadership as well as the rank and file members of the united states senate. >> i appreciate that. >> people are reading it all over the place. from my standpoint, we're really looking at the greatest threat to our national security is our debt. it has to do with our children and our grandchildren's futures. as i travel wyoming and have telephone town hall meetings, the things that really come up, people are saying i'm not worried for me. i'm worried for my kids and grandk grandkids, and are we still going to have america in the future with this kind of debt? who will we owe our future to? >> senator barrasso, i want to ask you about your piece in this morning's "wall street jour